The impact of brief educational intervention on Jordanian community pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices in asthma management: A quasi-experimental study.

Abstract

Community pharmacists play a pivotal role in asthma self‑management support. Nonetheless, important care gaps persist. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) scores among community pharmacists regarding asthma management. A quasi‑experimental two‑week educational intervention study was conducted among 110 licensed Jordanian community pharmacists. Baseline knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding asthma management were collected using a validated questionnaire. Participants then attended a guideline-aligned 2-hour educational session. The same questionnaire was administered for two weeks post‑intervention. Univariate and multivariate analyses were employed to determine the associated factors for baseline KAP scores. Changes in KAP scores were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed‑rank test, and changes in proportions of correct knowledge responses were assessed with McNemar's test. A total of 110 community pharmacists took part in the study, and 100 completed the post-intervention assessment. Education level was significantly associated with pharmacists' KAP. Pharmacists holding PharmD degrees had higher KAP scores compared with those holding a BSc in Pharmacy (p < 0.05). After the educational program, knowledge, attitude, and inhaler-use practice scores (MDI and DPI) were associated with short-term improvements in self-reported practice from before to after the intervention in all analyses (p < 0.001), showing improvement in pharmacists' knowledge, attitude and practices scores after the training. Following the short guideline‑based workshop, community pharmacists showed improvements in knowledge scores, attitudes toward asthma care, and self‑reported inhaler‑use practices. These findings suggest that a brief educational intervention may be associated with short‑term enhancements in pharmacists' asthma‑related competencies.